Billiard cue rack



United States Patent 3,146,889 BILLIARD CUE RACK Frank P. Franco, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Franco & Demaestri, Inn, Ferndaie, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Jan. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 248,961 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-68) This invention relates to a rack for elongated elements of substantially circular cross-section and relates more particularly to a rack for billiard cues.

The prior art illustrates various billiard cue racks wherein the upper and lower ends of the cues are both supported against displacement. The lower end of each of the cues is received in a hole provided in a holder, while the upper end of the cue is supported between a pair of contacting cushion elements. When it is required to remove a cue from the rack, it is necessary to first remove the upper end of the one and then the lower end of the cue from the rack in a careful manner so as to prevent breakage of the cue. However many persons attempt to remove the cue from the rack in one fast movement and as a result thereof break the cue.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a novel rack wherein breakage of the one or other elongated element is minimized by fixedly supporting only one end of the cue.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rack for elongated elements of substantially circular cross-section comprising a corrugated support having one or more corrugations therein, one corrugation for each element, a pair of pressure contacting members which are spaced apart to form a receptacle for one end portion of each of the elements, said members extending transversely of the corrugations in the support and converging in a direction away from the support, one of the members contacting each of the elements at a point to apply a force in one direction, and the other of the members contacting the same element at a point to apply a force in the opposite direction, the other end portion of the same element being held firmly against the wall of the corresponding corrugation due to the aforementioned pressure points to prevent lateral displacement of the element.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a rack of the aforementioned type wherein the corrugated support is arranged with the corrugations extending vertically and the pressure contacting members converging in a downwardly direction.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rack of the aforementioned type wherein the pressure contacting members converge downwardly with one of the members arranged substantially vertically and the other of the members extends downwardly toward the lower edge of said one member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rack of the aforementioned type wherein the corrugated support is in the form of a relatively narrow corrugated strip which is spaced above the pair of downwardly converging pressure contacting members.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a rack of the aforementioned type wherein the corrugated support is in the form of an elongated corrugated panel which has the lower edge thereof closely adjacent to the pair of downwardly converging pressure contacting members.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rack of the aforementioned type which may be fixedly mounted on a wall or mounted on a movable carrier. r

It is thus another object of the present invention to provide a simplified low cost structure of the aforementioned type having certain advantages contributing to efliciency, reliability, and long life as well as ease of maintenance.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the preferred embodiment of the billiard cue rack.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the rack illustrated in FIGURE 4.

Referring now to the drawing, the billiard cue rack is designated by the numeral 10 and comprises a frame 12 which hasa pair of vertically extending side members 14 and 16 and a holder 18 extending in a transverse direction between the side members 14 and 16 at the bottom thereof. The frame 12 includes an elongated corrugated rear panel 20 extending between the side members 14 and 16. The panel 20 has a plurality of corrugations therein which are arranged substantially vertically.

The billiard cue rack 10 is adapted to be mounted on a Wall 22 by means of a plurality of fasteners 24 which extend through the panel 20 and spacing elements 26 which are interposed between the wall 22 and the rack 10 as best illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The holder 18 includes a pair of downwardly converging pressure contacting members 30 and 32 which extends transversely of the corrugated panel 20. The pressure contacting members 30 and 32 are spaced apart so as to provide an elongated receptacle which is opened at the top for receiving the lower ends of the cues 34. The pressure contacting member 30 is arranged substantially vertically, while the pressure contacting member 32 converges downwardly toward the bottom edge of the member 39. A substantially horizontal closure member 36 connects the bottom edges of the members 30 and 32 to complete the holder 18.

The longitudinal upper edge 38 of the member 30 is provided with an elongated resilient strip 40 of substantially L-shaped cross-section, one leg of which is in engagement with the top surface of the pressure contacting member 30 and the other leg is in engagement with the inner side of the member 30 as best illustrated in FIG- URE 2. The strip 40 may be made, as an example, from rubber or plastic.

The elongated ones 34 are of substantially circular cross-section and gradually decrease in diameter from the handle or lower end of the cue to the tip or upper end of the cue. The space between the inner surfaces of the pressure contacting members 30 and 32 varies gradually, as best illustrated in FIGURE 2, from the top to bottom.

When it is required to mount the cue 34, the lower and larger end thereof is inserted into the receptacle such that one surface of the one 34 contacts member 30 at pressure point A and the opposite surface contacts the member 32 at pressure point B which is vertically spaced from pressure point A as best illustrated in FIGURE 2. The forces exerted at points A and B are substantially equal but in opposite directions so as to firmly grip and retain the lower end of the one 34 therebetween. The remaining portion of the one 34 lies firmly against the Wall defining the outer corrugation 42 as best illustrated in FIGURE 3. A pair of adjacent cues 34 are separated by the inner corrugation 44 which prevents accidental lateral displacement of the cue 34.

It has been found that in operation the pressure contacting members 30 and 32 effectively hold the remaining portion of the cue 34 firmly against the wall of the outer corrugation 42. In fact, the entire rack 10 may be rotated, as an example, 45 from the vertical position without disturbing the orientation of the cues 34. With such a construction, it should be noted that the cues 34 are held firmly in place due substantially to the pressure contacting members 30 and 32 which engage only the lower ends of the cues. When it is required to remove a cue 34 from the rack 10, all that is required is that a person grip an intermediate portion of the cue 34 and apply an upwardly directed force on the cue so as to overcome the forces exerted at pressure points A and B.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. Rather than utilizing the panel 20 as in the other embodiment, only a relatively narrow elongated corrugated strip 50 is utilized which is adapted to engage only the upper ends of the cues 34. The elongated strip 50 is secured to the wall by means of screws 52. The holder 18 is spaced below the strip 50 as best illustrated in FIGURE 4 and includes the pressure contacting members 30 and 32 as described in connection with the previous embodiment. The elongated strip 50 is effective to prevent accidental lateral displacement of the cues 34 in the same manner as the panel 20 as described for the other embodiment.

It should be understood that the rack may be secured directly to the wall 22 without the necessity of utilizing the spacing elements 26. As an example, the rack 10 may be suspended from the wall by hooks or the like. In addition, the entire rack 10 may be provided with wheels or mounted on a movable carrier such that the rack may be moved as required. In addition, the rack 10 may be made from various materials. The members 36 and 32 and the entire frame 14 may be made, as an example, from wood or metal, while the corrugated panel 20 may be made from plastic or metal. The panel 20 may be composed of a plurality of sections such that the rack 10 may be made in any required length. The various panel sections may be made from different colored plastic material or painted with different colors so as to provide a rack which is attractive and complements the surrounding area of the building.

The rack 10 may be used for mounting other elongated elements such as brooms, golf clubs, poles, etc., although its primary use is with cues.

The drawing and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved billiard cue rack in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A rack for elongated elements of substantially cylindrical cross section comprising an upright support having upper and lower portions, the upper portion being an upright panel having vertically extending corrugations, the lower portion being a horizontally extending elongated open top hollow receptacle having a relatively narrow horizontally extending flat bottom and having horizontally extending front and rear walls diverging up- Wardly from said flat bottom, said front wall being substantially vertically disposed, said rear wall being inclined upwardly and rearwardly at substantially an obtuse angle to said upright panel and being disposed at substantially an acute angle to said front wall so that said rear wall is operable to cam toward said front wall the lower ends of elongated elements inserted into said receptacle, and the upright front wall is operable to cause the upper ends of said elongated elements to engage the vertically extending corrugations of said upright panel.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein the front wall of the receptacle has a greater height than the rear wall thereof.

3. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein an elongated horizontally extending resilient strip of substantially L cross section extends along the upper edge of the front wall of the receptacle, one leg of said strip being in surface-to-surface relation with the upper edge of said front wall, the other leg of said strip being in surface-tosurface relation with the rear surface of said front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A RACK FOR ELONGATED ELEMENTS OF SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL CROSS SECTION COMPRISING AN UPRIGHT SUPPORT HAVING UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS, THE UPPER PORTION BEING AN UPRIGHT PANEL HAVING VERTICALLY EXTENDING CORRUGATIONS, THE LOWER PORTION BEING A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING ELONGATE OPEN TOP HOLLOW RECEPTACLE HAVING A RELATIVELY NARROW HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING FLAT BOTTOM AND HAVING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING FRONT AND REAR WALLS DIVERGING UPWARDLY FROM SAID FLAT BOTTOM, SAID FRONT WALL BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED, SAID REAR WALL BEING INCLINED. 